Pilot study of pre-maxilla replacement and bone graft in a patient with lip and palate clefts: transforaminal relationship between upper canines and bone graft

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess patients subjected to replacement surgery of the pre maxilla with bone graft, having as donor area the iliac crest and chin, and the relation with upper canines erupted in grafted areas. Materials and Methods: 54 records were evaluated from cleft patients that were under treatment at CAIF -Center of Attention to Clefts in Curitiba, PR, Brazil, both sexes, with unilateral and bilateral lip and palate clefts. Patients younger than fourteen years old, both sexes, that lost the surgical segment or did not continue the treatment at same welcoming institution, were excluded. The surgical segment average was 5.72 years. Results: Using both descriptive and chi-square statistics, we observed a statistically significant distinction regarding the eruption of upper canines in the region of secondary bone grafts when using iliac crest and chin grafts, which 62.8% of the sample that was treated with chin grafts happened to have an eruption of upper canines, and 37.2% were successful with iliac crest grafts (value-p 0.028). Conclusions: It is necessary to carry out a study with a larger sample size and where the samples are paired in order to confirm the superiority the iliac crest donor area as the gold standard for this surgical procedure.